Juninho hoping to shut down Houston while facing old friend Camargo

CARSON, Calif. -- The Houston Dynamo will arrive at The Home Depot Center for Saturday's MLS Cup with a number of dangerous options in the midfield, be it Brad Davis, Ricardo Clark or Boniek Garcia and central to shutting down those Dynamo lynch pins will be LA Galaxy midfielder Juninho.

The Brazilian has been integral part of the Galaxy's run to the postseason, participating in all five of the club's MLS Cup Playoff matches this season while starting four. On Saturday, the Brazilian will need to be at his best again as he looks to shut down a Dynamo attack that has been clinically efficient on offense this postseason, notching eight goals to date.

"They've changed since last year. They have different players this year and good players in every position," said Juninho. "They have Davis back and that's very important for them so we have to be prepared. We are prepared for that and we're hoping to win again."

Injury concerns do linger for Juninho, however, as he has battled through an inflamed right Achilles for several weeks, but on Tuesday, head coach Bruce Arena affirmed Juninho is healthy and is expected to participate fully on Saturday.

There will be a familiar face on the other sideline as he will face off against another former Sao Paulo youth product, Houston midfielder Luiz Camargo. The two are old friends dating back to their teenage years and Juninho admitted that the discussions between the two old friends about the final have already begun.

"I've talked to him a few times last week and spoke to him about the final," said Juninho. "We're both excited. I hope that he's starting so that we can play against each other.